Way To The Future
by MeredithGreyIsExtraordinary
Summary: Ever since the winter break hiatus in Season 9, i felt the lack of MerDer moments regarding them, Zola and the baby. So i decided to write one-shots to fulfill those scenes i felt were too short or some that i wish we had seen but were never actually shown. Hope you find this entertaining as we wait for season 10!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Grey's Anatomy, wish i worked on it though.. **

**Hey y'all ! So, the thing is I had free time this morning, clearly. And as it is very rare for me to have nothing to do. I decided to write something that's been on my mind for quite a while. I loved season 9! all of it. But there were various episodes, especially after the winter hiatus where i wish we had more MerDer scenes regarding the new baby, Zola and them. So I'm writing some one-shots to make that feeling go away.**

**This one-shot is because, as lovely as the 26 MerDer seconds we got on Bailey's wedding episode, I was never content with the fast forward to a month later they made for the next episode. I felt it would have been nice to see Meredith and Lizzie interact some more and some very needed talks between her and Derek as well. So this is what this is about. It's a one-shot right after episode 9x10. Hope you like it!**

**Family Is All That Matters**

Meredith came back from the wedding reception crying. She felt so helpless knowing that even though the surgery had been completely successful; Adele's heart wasn't strong enough to keep beating. She thought of her mother, she died exactly the same way. She thought of the Chief, he was completely broken, both women he loved had been victims of Alzheimer's, none of them could be saved.

And then she thought of Derek and her kids. What if she ever got Alzheimer's? It would be the most distressing misfortune, not knowing who her husband or her kids are was an idea that terrified her. It was her biggest fear, she wasn't even that scared about dying on an accident or having a heart attack. She was scared of dying while being alive, forgetting everything and everyone. T

ears were streaming nonstop down her cheeks, she then realized she was getting closer to the hospital. Derek and Zola were there, she had to pull herself together so they wouldn't be worried. And the baby, she knew it wouldn't do the baby any good to share her feelings of fear and sadness.

Meredith arrived, mechanically parked the car and quickly got changed to jeans and a sweater before heading to Derek's room, checking on Lizzie first, who was fast asleep.

Derek was awake, cuddling with Zola, who was peacefully sleeping.

"Hey.. Did i tell you how gorgeous you look on that dress?" Derek smiled.

"Hey, I think you kind of implied it with a previous coment. How long has she been here?" Meredith asked pointing Zola with her sight.

"Alex brought her here about an hour ago, I red to her and she fell asleep. She was missing you and asked for you."

"I missed her too, both of you." Meredith sighed.

Derek looked at her in the eyes and he knew. "You've been crying, a lot. Sweety what happened? Is something wrong?"

Meredith let a single tear escape from her left eye. "Adele, she passed away while we were on the wedding." Meredith said softly.

"Oh no. But, the surgery went perfect" he sighed.

"It did, but her heart couldn't resist any longer."

"How's Richard coping? I mean.."

"He… i think he'll be fine. He knew this day would come, but, I don't think he realized how hard it would be. And, i think he feels guilty for leaving her in a home and not being around more." Meredith said sadly.

"Yeah. I can't imagine how he must feel. We'll help him get through it. I'll talk to him tomorrow." Derek said. He shifted Zola closer to him, making space for Meredith to lie on the bed. "Mer, what else is bothering you? I know you…"

"I'm scared" she admitted. "I was thinking about you and Zola, and the baby. What if everything goes fine and suddenly i get Alzheimer's and forget all of you. I can't.."

"Mer, we don't know what will happen." He said holding her hand. "But i promise you I'll never stop looking for a cure for Alzheimer's. And no matter what, we'll get through everything. We won't leave you, ever. And you won't leave us either." He said.

Meredith soothed and a smile formed on her face. "I'll fix up a bed for Zola in this sofa." She said getting up and reclining the sofá, putting some pillows on the side and making it comfortable for Zola to sleep in for a while. She carried Zola and lay her down covering her with a blanket she had on the baby bag.

After she was done, she made sure the sofá was facing the bed so she could check on Zola and then she lay down beside Derek, who was smiling, enchanted by the sweet scene. "You're such an amazing mom" he said. Meredith grinned at the remark. Then she remembered she had something to let Derek know.

"I told Lizzie." She said smiling.

"You did? So you told Cristina and Alex too?" Derek asked smiling.

"No, Lizzie is the only one who knows besides you and me." She took a deep breath before continuing. "She has been so nice to me. She wants me to see her as a sister. We talked, and… Derek i realized i want to have a closer relationship with your family. I lost the only family member i had a good relationship with. Lexie will never know and.. Lizzie being here, i felt it like a second chance. So i told her." Meredith said.

Derek kissed her and hugged her tighter. Meredith had been through so much her entire life. But losing Lexie was something that deeply affected her, she had been so strong but it was very evident it hurt so much every time she thought about it. "I'm so glad you did." He said. "I miss her too Mer, but I'm sure she's happy for us, wherever she is."

"Me too. I asked her not to blab it to the entire family before we were more assured and told her to do so."

"That's okay. It's all going to be fine Mer. We'll take all the preventive measures and caring to make sure of it. This baby is a miracle, we'll protect him or her and it will all be alright."

"We'll take it one day at a time and hope it all goes well." Meredith said.

They stayed cuddling for a while more and then Meredith left home with Zola.

The next day, both Lizzie and Derek would be discharged. Lizzie would stay with Meredith and Derek for three days before going home.

"Thank you for having me here. I hope I'm not too much of a pain in the ass for you." Lizzie said giggling.

"Not at all, feel at home. I have today off to take care of Derek and you. So just ask me if you need anything." Meredith offered.

"You don't really have to do all of this. Thank you." Lizzie said.

"You're family. That's what sisters do." Meredith stated quoting Lizzie's words.

"Yeah, that's true." Lizzie smiled. "Hey, how is morning sickness?"

"It's… there." Meredith laughed. "Some days it's awuful, but these last days it's been better."

"My first pregnancy was the same. Some days were terrible, but then it got better. Have you had any cravings yet?" Lizzie asked.

"Granola bars and fruit milkshakes. I get them pretty mucho n a daily basis, at least." Meredith giggled.

"Awe, healthy food. Well, with my brother, it was hard to think your kid would make you crave junk food. I was all about chocolate muffins." Lizze said.

"I'm actually so thankful for these cravings, because if this baby would have my food preferences, i'd probably be weighting 20 pounds more by now." Meredith laughed.

"What were you two talking about?" Derek asked joining them in the living room.

"About you being responsible of me craving healthy food." Meredith smirked.

"What can I say, I'm that awesome." He teased.

"I'll get dinner ready in a minute." Meredith said heading toward the kitchen.

"I thought you said she didn't know how to cook." Lizzie said to Derek.

"You told her that?!" Meredith pouted.

"Come on Mer, you've learned to cook this year, only because you know Zola can't live on Microwave grilled cheese and pizza." Derek winked and laughed.

"Fine, I'll admit it's true. But now i know how to cook, so don't worry Lizzie. Dinned will be decent."

"It really was delilcious, thank you Mer." Lizzie said.

"You're welcome, glad you liked it. I'm gonna get the plates to the dishwasher and go give Zola a bath before we put her down to sleep." Meredith said.

"Sorry I can't help today." Derek said.

"It's fine. You just need to focus on getting better so you can go back to the OR soon." Meredith smiled.

After getting everything done, Derek joined Meredith to tuck Zola in. Lizzie went as well, she was fascinated by how beautifully decorated the Little girl's room was.

"This is so precious." Lizzie remarked.

"Thank you. Mer picked everything. I just painted and moved the furniture around." Derek said.

"We both did it." Meredith smiled.

"I love it. The entire house, it's so tastefully decorated."

The next two days passed smoothly. Meredith managed to balance everything. Derek was slowly able to make a couple of simple movements with his hand and Lizzie was walking almost regularly.

"Thank you for taking care of me and welcoming into your house. It's been really great to spend time with you." Lizzie said.

"Anytime you want. You know we're always here. I'm sorry we've been so out of touch. But we promise to keep you updated on everything." Derek said.

"Yeah please. Thank you Mer, for letting me in. I know it wasn't easy for you and i appreciate it so much. Keep me updated with everything about Zola and the baby. I'l be happy to help or give you advice if you need it." Lizzie offered.

"I'm so glad we got to meet each other. Thank you for everything Lizzie. I promise, I'll keep you updated with everything." Meredith said.

After saying goodbye, Lizzie went into the pre-boarding room and Meredith and Derek headed back home. Feeling more hopeful and ready to face whatever came on their way together. As they always did and as it always seemed to make things turn out just fine.

**Well, what did you think about it? please REVIEW! :) I'll post some more one-shots related to season 9, to compliment those scenes i think we all wished were shown. Thank you for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi everyone! Wow! I am so happy you liked the idea and want to keep reading, the reception this first chapter got was great! First of all, I wanted to thank you for reviewing, you inspired me to write more. Thank you for leaving suggestions and requests, which i promise i will fulfill on these chapters. Well, this one is more of an emotional chapter, set in episode 11. I hope you like it.**

**Survivors Dinner**

Derek had been making a tremendous progress with his hand healing treatment. After Lizzie left, he started doing physiotherapy with Callie. In the following three weeks, he was already able to hold Zola, do things in the kitchen and regained domain of his surgical techniques and instrument use.

He was starting to feel confident about it again. Especially since he could do so many more things now, he appreciated them more than ever. Being able to hold Meredith's hair and rubbing circles on her back while she threw up every morning, being capable of making her and Zola breakfast were things he felt joy for being capable to do.

Today had been a good day. It started off with Meredith being insecure about telling Cristina she's pregnant. Then they were called to the court and things went on their side. Each of them getting 15 million $ was an idea that would take time getting used to.

Right after Derek finished his fierce ping pong match with Ross and Meredith was done with her surgery, it was time to go home.

Derek picked up Zola from day-care and went to the nurse station to wait for Meredith, she was exhausted, but looked flawless and with glowing skin and hair.

"I don't know if we should go. I mean, no matter how much they gave us, we'd still never get Lexie and Mark back. I really don't feel like celebrating.." Meredith said as she was prepping things up for Zola's bath.

"I know. I think so too and i definitely don't feel like going to a dinner party tonight, but Callie was really wishing for all of us to spend time together. So..maybe we shouldn't take it as a celebration, but as dinner with friends." Derek said.

"Yeah, i guess you're right. We should probably go so we won't let them down." Meredith remarked. "Alright baby-girl, water is warm and full of your toys and duckies waiting for you." Meredith cooed Zola and sat her in the bathtub.

"Duckies!" Zola cheered.

"Yeah! That's right Zozo, duckies! What sound do ducks make?" Derek asked.

"Quack quack!" Zola said excited.

"Yes! Very good Zo!" Meredith encouraged her daughter.

They dried Zola and put her on cute purple pajamas.

"Ok, you're ready for bed sweetie. Would you like us to read you a story?" Meredith asked cooing as Zola cuddled close to her placing her head over

Meredith's chest and one of her hands over her belly.

Meredith and Derek looked at each other an communicated instantly. They would have to tell Zola soon, Mer's bump was barely noticeable, but it

would be soon.

"Yes! Story!" Zola Cheered.

They sat with Zola and read to her until she fell asleep.

Thankfully, April offered to babysit Zola while they were out, so they left her feeling calm, because they trusted April.

Three hours later, they were back home. After thanking and saying goodbye to April and checking on Zola, they went to their bedroom.

"I'm so glad you told them." Derek said smiling.

"Me too, although i didn't have much choice. There wasn't anything i could make up for not drinking. I mean.. It's me..." Meredith smirked making

Derek giggle.

"It's amazing they know, now they can help me take care of you in the hospital as well." Derek said.

"I don't need babysitters." Meredith pouted.

"No you don't. But i want to make sure you have someone to watch over you if you're feeling bad and i'm not close." Derek stated.

"Yeah, it makes sense. Hey,

We should probably tell your family and give Lizzie the green light to talk about it. Now that basically everyone knows or will know by tomorrow

morning with the gossip lover people in the hospital." Meredith rambled a little.

"Yeah, we should. Let's call my mom, it's not too late." Derek said staring at the clock. "But we should go to the attic, because she's probably

gonna get very excited and wake Zola up."

"Ok, let's go, but i want to put my pj's on first. I want comfy clothes." Meredith asked.

They went upstairs and talked to Caroline via skype.

"Hi mom, how have you been?"

"Hi darling, i've been great. What about you? Where's Meredith and Zola?"

"Zola's asleep, and Meredith's.." Derek asnwered.

"I'm here. Hi Caroline. It's so great to see you again."

"Hi sweetheart, it's great to see you too. You look beautiful." Caroline said.

"Thank you." Meredith smiled.

"Well mom, there's something we want to tell you. But please try to be quiet so we don't wake Zola up."

"Alright, what's going on?" Caroline asked suspicious and excited looking at Derek and Meredith's smiles.

"I'm pregnant." Meredith said.

"Oh my God! Sorry, i'll be quiet. That's amazing sweetie. Oh this is such a blessing, how far along are you? How are you feeling? Does anyone

else know?" Caroline squealed.

"I'm 12 weeks along, first trimester just finished today. I'm feeling well, morning sickness has passed." Meredith replied.

"Lizzie knows. We asked her not to tell anyone until we were more assured." Derek said.

They talked for a couple of minutes more sharing the joy.

The next afternoon, after their shift were over and after hours of over-thinking, Meredith came to the conclusion that she wanted to do

something.

"Hey, how was your day?" She asked Derek as she approached him carrying Zola.

"I've been great thanks. Do you want to hand me Zola?"

"No, i'm fine. She's light, i can carry her." Meredith assured.

"Okay, how was yours?"

"Pretty good too. Uhm, can we make a stop before going home?" She asked.

"Sure, where do you want to go?" Derek asked.

"I want to visit Lexie." Meredith said. "I know we almost never go because it gets us depressed, but today i need to.." She said.

"Ok, we'll go." Derek affirmed.

Walking down the graveyard, Meredith felt so much pain thinking that what was left of her sister was there. It was more of a symbolic thing,

because of the wolves and everything that happened back in the woods.

She went close to the place were a plaque with Lexie's name was.

"Hey, I know i never come here. I hate it, because i hate to think you're here. I hate knowing that you're gone and i'll never see you again. I hate

the fact that Zola won't see you again and now... There's something i want to share with you. Because you're my sister and i want you to know it. I'm pregnant Lex, i'm having another baby. You were right telling me that as things go between me and Derek it was impossible for me not to get pregnant again. I wanted to tell you, because i know you would be incredibly happy. And i promise this baby will know about you. I love you Lexie, i miss you so much." Meredith said and between tears went back to Derek, who was holding Zola a couple of yards behind.

"Thank you, i really needed this." Meredith said as Derek hugged her with his free arm.

"She'd be really happy you know?. Mer, we'll make sure Zola never forgets Lexie and we'll also talk to the baby about her. He or she will know how amazing hi or her aunt Lexie was." Derek said comforting Meredith.

"Mommy sad?" Zola asked.

"Mommy misses aunt Lexie Zo." Meredith answered wiping her tears.

"I miss aunt Lexie too." Zola said.

"I know you do baby, we all do." Derek said.

They went back home and Meredith lied down on the living room to take a nap while Zola played with her toys.

Derek decided to do something to cheer her up, so he called Zola who excitedly agreed. They let Mer nap for a little while and then went to wake her up.

"Hey, we're gonna make some chocolate and blueberry pancakes, wanna join us in the kitchen?" Derek said kissing her.

"pancakes!" Zola cheered.

Meredith grinned and got up. "Sure! Let's go make some delicious pancakes. I'm kind of starving."

She really loved her husband and daughter, and she knew that no matter how bad a day was, they would always make it great together. And it would be the same with the baby.

**So... what did you think of it? Please REVIEW! let me know your thoughts, suggestions, requests I'm happy to read them all. I hoped you liked this chapter, I always thought it would have been nice to have something involving Lexie, because of how important she became in Meredith, Derek and Zola's life and I thought that something like the scene I wrote would honor that. Stay tuned for next chapter! More fluff, talk and cute scenes coming! :) Have a great weekend!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello everyone! I'm incredibly thankful for the great reception this fanfic had! I'm so happy you like it. Your reviews make me zoo zoo happy! :) Well, today is Grey'sDay and as there is no new Grey's, i thought of posting a new chapter for you. Well, this one was requested by MichelleBell16. I totally agreed with the idea that there should have been at least a scene of interaction between Meredith and Zola. I love seeing Mer as a mother. So this chapter is about that. Full Mer and Zola time and fluff. It's set right after S9 Ep 12. Hope you like it.**

**Mommy Duty**

The day Meredith faced her fear of flying again and Derek went back to the OR was a really good day. They both felt like they were finally getting through and over all the bad things that had been so recurrently happening to them and were in such a happy peaceful place now.

Sitting in the couch, enjoying each other's company, Derek with a glass of wine and Meredith with orange juice, they started talking more about the future.

"Which room should we choose for the baby?" Derek asked.

"Don't you think it's a Little too soon for that?" Meredith said.

"Well, it may be a Little. But come on sweetie, we're trying to be optimistic here. Now i think the room beside Zola's would be great." He said.

"I think the one in front of hers would be better, it has sunlight in the morning, so it's warm. For the location of the window, it won't be insanely hot in summer and we could place the crib on the opposite Wall so the sun won't bother him or her." Meredith answered with a smile.

"Yeah, i think that's a great idea." Derek smiled back. "We can use Zola's crib, now that she's sleeping in her big-girl bed." Derek said.

"Yeah, and we can use many of her baby things as well if it turns out to be a girl." Meredith said. "Do you want to know the sex of the baby before it's born?"

"I would like to and you?" He asked.

" Me too. So we can get him or her more things." Meredith said. "I would like to go do the baby shopping with you and Zola. After we tell her. I want her to be a part of all of it." Meredith said

" Me too. I think it's great to get her involved in everything. Choosing stuff, decorating the nursery. I don't want her to feel left out." Derek said.

"Exactly, neither do I." Meredith said. "That is why...I was thinking about having a girls afternoon tomorrow. My shift ends at 3. So I can take her out somewhere and then we can go back to the hospital and pick you up later at night." She suggested.

"I think that's a great idea. We should take advantage of it before Cahill's people start invading the hospital." Derek said.

"Ugh, i can't stand her. She's so focused in numbers and nothing more. Which is ridiculous since she's a doctor as well." Meredith said.

"I detest her. She walks around bossing everyone and she's altering the order of everything. I understand we're making the system more efficient, but i don't like the way she's doing it." Derek said.

"I know. Hey, i always walk around bossing everyone and you never complain." Meredith stated.

"Yeah, but you look hot bossing everyone around. So it doesn't bother me." He smirked and Meredith laughed.

"I'm gonna go check on Zola." She said.

"Ok, i'll get these glasses clean and be right behind you." Derek said.

Meredith went inside Zola's bedroom. Her daughter was peacefully sleeping hugging her stuffed lion. She looked so adorable. Meredith could just stare at her forever. She took the books they had left on the armchair and placed them on the bookshelf among the others.

Then she went closer to Zola's bed and adjusted the pillow carefully to not wake her up. She slipped the lion out of Zola's arms and placed it beside her. Finally, she covered Zola better with the blanket and kissed her forehead before quietly leaving the bedroom.

When she turned around, she saw Derek staring in awe at her. Grinning at the cute sight.

"Meredith smiled back and they went to sleep.

The next morning, things were pretty hectic at the hospital. There had been a major car accident and a lot of injured people were being transferred to Seattle Grace from other hospitals.

"See, this is why we NEED the trauma center." April pointed out.

"Exactly, if we had closed it already, many of these people would be dead by now."Derek agreed.

"And a lot more wouldn't have even been admitted to a hospital, because the rest are full." Meredith said.

"I know you want the trauma center to keep working, but there is no Budget." Cahill said and walked away.

"I'm sure there is. We can make some cuts in a couple of departments and we'll be able to save the OR. We just need to make a good plan." Derek said.

They all went to operate on their different cases. Meredith was exhausted and starving by lunchtime.

"I could eat the entire dessert row right now." She said.

"I would love to see that. Come on, i'll help you take out all the muffins and chocolate mousse." Cristina joked.

"Seriously, I'm starving, let's go get something to eat?!." Meredith pleaded.

"You should go home sleep after lunch. It's been a long day. Too many patients and surgeries." Cristina said.

"No, I'm taking Zola out for girls afternoon. I want to spend time only with her before my bump grows more and I'm unable to do more things." Meredith said.

"Ok, I don't wanna geta ll sentimental here. But you've become an extraordinary mother Mer. Really, I can't even imagine how tired you must feel and you still get energy and time to spend it with your daughter. And that kid loves you so much. You're a rockstar to her." Cristina said.

"Cristina, that's… Sorry, the hormones." Meredith said pushing tears back.

"I know. I should have figured you'd geta ll gooey and sensitive." She teased.

"Well, I'm gonna go pick Zola up from day-care so we can leave. I'll se you later or tomorrow." Meredith said and left.

She got changed and headed to day-care, where Zola was playing with some other kids.

"Hey baby-girl!" Meredith greeted.

"Mommy!" Zola cheered and ran to hug her.

"Come on sweetie, we'll get your stuff. You and me are going on a girls afternoon ok?" Meredith said and smiled as she saw her daughter's face light up.

"Yaaay!" Zola grinned and clinged to her.

Meredith drove to a mall downtown. It had several stores, food-courts and a games section for children.

"Ok, so what do you think if we go check some clothes for you? Your jumpers are a Little too small, and maybe some shoes too." Meredith suggested.

"And bracelets?" Zola asked.

Meredith smiled at her. "Sure, we can see some bracelets too." Her daughter was such a girly girl. Not very much like Meredith was while growing up. But Zola also loved being in comfy clothes, eating pizza and acted just like Meredith in so many ways.

They went into a couple of stores Meredith loved taking Zola to, because she always found cute comfy clothes for her daughter.

"Did you like the things we got sweetie?" Meredith asked.

"Yes! Pretty clothes and shoes mommy. And bracelets" Zola said. "May i put on my pink shoes?" Zola asked.

"Sure you can honey. Come on, we'll sit on a bench and get your shoes changed." Meredith said as she took out the cute pink and sparkling converse-like shoes she had bought for Zola.

"Ok, what do you want to do now princess?" Meredith asked.

"I'm hungry." Zola said.

"Ok, do you want some frozen yogurt with fruits and cereal?"

"Yummy! " Zola answered.

"Ok, let's go get some."

They sat on a table near the games and ate. Zola asked top lay for a Little while and Meredith agreed, taking advantage of it to rest. Her feet were a Little sore. She watched Zola play happily and carefree. She took some photos of her and sent them to Derek.

"Ok sweetie, let's go. What about if we check some books?"

"Books mommy." Zola said and taking Meredith's hand kept walking.

They went inside 'Barnes and noble' they picked up two books with puzzles for Zola. Meredith delicately and got another book about pregnancy and one especially for telling children they'd have a sibling she thought would be perfect for Zola.

They kept walking around, Meredith got herself a pair of sunglasses and a scarf and bought Derek and Zola scarves as well. She knew it didn't make sense to get herself more clothes now, because she'd need maternity ones soon.

There was a small zoo beside the mall. Meredith thought it would be a good idea to take Zola there, since the Little girl loved animals.

"Hey Zo, you want to see some animals in the zoo?" she asked.

"Yes!" Zola cheered.

"Alright, let's go see them." Meredith said and took her daughter to see the animals.

"Monkey!" Zola said when she saw two monkeys.

"That's right Zo, monkeys."

"Lion! Roaar." Zola said when she saw a lion.

"Yeah, that's a lion, he makes that sound. Very good ZoZo." Meredith encouraged her daughter.

They spent about half an hour walking around looking at the animals.

"Ok sweetie, it's time to go now." Meredith said.

"I don't want to go mommy." Zola pouted.

"Baby we already bought what we needed, we ate, you played and we saw the animals. Now we have to go pick daddy up from the hospital and go home." Meredith explained.

"Ok mommy." Zola sighed and grabbed Meredith's hand on their way to the parking lot.

Meredith drove back smiling. She had really wanted to do this in the last couple of days, but it was all so hectic. She promised herself she'd take Zola out like that once a week at least until she wouldn't be able to walk too much and carry too many things.

Seeing her daughter happily playing in her car chair and smiling at her pink shoes made Meredith's heart burst with joy, thinking Cristina may be right and she was actually a great mom. She knew she would always work hard to be a great mom. Because, as much as she loved her job, nothing brought her more happiness than seeing her daughter smile.

**So... please REVIEW! let me know what you think about it! Next chapter is based on ep 13. Expect a sweet family moment between Mer, Der and Zo. Thank you all for reading and reviewing! You're all lovely people. Stay tuned and have a great friday and weekend.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey everyone! Thank you so much for your amazing reviews! You inspire me to keep writing. Well, this chapter is based on ep. 13, when the baby kicks for the very first time. I feel it would have been nice to see prior interaction between MerDer and not only Derek feeling the baby kick at the end of the episode. Also, i was a little let down because i wanted a scene where they told Zola about the baby. So that's what this chapter is about. Hope you like it.**

**Can You Feel It?**

Meredith walked down the hospital hallway after getting the granola bar she was craving. Cristina got paged because of some stupid thing her intern did, it was already too late to go back to skills lab with Bailey and Webber. So she decided to look for Derek to tell him the baby kicked.

Thankfully, she didn't have to walk long. He was standing near the nurse station with Owen and April. They all looked upset and frustrated. Meredith stood still waiting a minute, April and Owen shrugged and took different paths leaving Derek alone. She decided to approach casually do Derek wouldn't feel forced to tell her everything immediately.

"Hey" she greeted.

"Hey" he gave her half a smile. "It didn't work out." Derek sighed.

"What happened?" Meredith asked concerned.

"We made an ideal budget report. We got dermatology and cardio to make some cuts, so we would be able to save the ER. We went to tell Cahill,

but she said it didn't matter anyway. Because it's not about saving the ER. That was never the issue. They're preparing the hospital to sell it to a

group of investors." He explained.

"What? But why would they close the ER?" Meredith asked annoyed.

"Because it doesn't bring any profit to them. It spends human and resources and materials. So they don't think it's a good business to keep it up."

Derek shrugged.

"That's ridiculous. It's a hospital, not a department store. It's supposed to treat and heal people, not make money at the expense of them." She

said.

"I know, but there seems to be nothing more we can do. They'll buy the hospital and we'll all keep our jobs. So in the end i guess that's the

important thing." Derek said.

"Yeah, i guess you're right. I don't like that though." Meredith said.

"Neither do i." Derek sighed.

"You want me to cheer you up?" She asked.

"Hmm, is there an empty on-call room?" He smirked.

"Well i wasn't thinking about cheering you up like that, but it sounds tempting." She giggled. "Uhm, the baby kicked today." She said smiling.

"It did? When did you feel it?" Derek asked excited.

"I was in the lab doing the new 'efficient method'. I started to feel a flutter and freaked out thinking there was something wrong. But Bailey went

after me and she realized it was the baby moving and kicking." Meredith said and grinned.

"That's amazing! Why did you freak out so much Mer?" He asked with his dreamy look.

"Because i don't want to fool myself thinking there is no chance that something may go wrong. Because it could." She said.

"Mer, you have to stop thinking like that and worrying so much." He said.

"Derek i can't. We don't know what may happen in the following five months. We're never totally safe." She said with a little anguish in her voice.

"I know that. But Connie checked the baby, she said it's all going perfectly, it's a big healthy baby and we should just keep taking care of you two

and wait. And we have to tell Zola." Derek comforted her holding her hand.

"I...wanted to wait a little longer. I'm afraid if something goes wrong..Derek i don't want to break her heart." Meredith said with teary eyes.

"Hey, Mer it's okay to be scared, but you can't constantly be thinking about a catastrophe happening. We just need to relax and enjoy it... It will all

be okay, just as it has been these past four months." He hugged her and rubbed her back.

"Besides, we really need to tell Zola, because everyone in the hospital knows and eventually someone is gonna spill it or ask her something about

her baby brother or sister." Derek said.

"Yeah, you're right. And i want us to tell her and explain to her. I don't want her to feel that we lied to her. Yes, we have to tell her." Meredith said.

"Okay, we'll tell her tonight then." He smiled. "Oh, is the baby still kicking every now and then?" He asked anxious.

"No, it hasn't kicked since earlier this afternoon. But i'm sure it will soon." She smiled back.

Later on, Meredith went to pick up Zola from day-care while Derek went to take a shower and get changed. It had been a long day after a

sleepless night doing numbers to save the ER.

"Hey love! How was your day? Did you have fun?" Meredith asked Zola.

"Momma! I played!" Zola said happy to ser her mom again.

"That's great baby girl. Come on, we'll meet daddy downstairs and we'll go home." Meredith told Zola as she picked her up. She realized Zola

frowned a little noticing Meredith didn't have a flat stomach anymore, so Zola softly shifted her leg around the bump. 'We really need to tell her

now' Meredith thought to herself.

"Daddy!" Zola cheered when she and Meredith got out of the elevator and saw Derek waiting for them.

"Hey ZoZo! How're you? Did you have a good day?!" Derek cooed Zola as Meredith passed her to his arms.

"Yes!" Zola said and smiled.

"Let's go home." Meredith said and they all went to the car.

Zola fell asleep during the drive, Meredith took the opportunity to tell Derek what she saw.

"Zola noticed the bump today. You've been carrying her lately, so today when i picked her up she noticed my belly is not flat anymore. It's really

necessary for us to tell her." Meredith said.

"Yeah, i think she'll handle it well. We'll tell her about the great benefits of having a sibling." Derek winked.

"Exactly. And what? We'll leave the bad parts aside?" Meredith giggled.

"Yeah, she'll realize when the baby pulls her hair for the first time." Derek chuckled.

"The other day, when i took her out. I bought a book about big sisters for kids. I thought it'd be good for us to read it to her when we tell her."

Meredith said.

"That was a great idea. You should take it out now. We'll need it." Derek smiled.

After arriving home and enjoying dinner, Meredith and Derek played with Zola for a little while and then sat her down on the sofa.

"Sweetie we have something to tell you." Meredith said.

"It's a surprise." Derek completed.

"Surprise?!" Zola asked excited.

"Yes. Zo, you know how some of your friends at day-care have baby brothers or sisters?" Meredith said.

"Mhmm." Zola nodded.

"Well Zo, you're gonna have a baby brother or sister." Meredith said.

"Me have baby brother or sister?!" Zola squealed.

"Yes princess. The baby is growing inside mommy's belly. See?" Derek pointed at Meredith's belly as she lifted up her shirt exposing the bump.

"Baby there?" Zola asked.

"Yes Zo, there's a baby there."

"When baby out?" Zola asked.

"In five months sweetie. Baby has to grow more until he or she is ready to meet us." Derek explained.

"Baby boy or girl?" Zola asked.

"We don't know yet honey." Meredith smiled sweetly.

"Baby play with me?" Zola asked.

"Of course, baby will play with you. But you have to wait for baby to grow up." Derek said.

"Oh..ok." Zola said.

"Me in mommy's belly too?" Zola asked.

Meredith and Derek knew this question would pop sometime, and they agreed it would be better for Zola to know from a young age. They looked

at each other and Meredith started explaining.

"Sweetie, some babie's grow in another mommy's belly. And then they go with a mommy and daddy that are waiting for them." Meredith stated.

"Zo. You were in another mommy's belly. Far away. In Malawi. Daddy and me wanted to have you so much. So we waited for you to grow up, like

this baby." Meredith said pointing her belly. "When you were big enough, you came here with us and be our baby girl." Meredith said looking at

Zola's face, she was processing everything.

"Momma and daddy you waited for me?" Zola asked.

"Yes princess, because we wanted to have you and love you so much." Derek said.

"Other mommy in Malawi?" Zola asked.

"Other mommy and daddy went to heaven. And you cam with us because we love you so much and want to take care of you." Meredith said.

"Heaven like aunt Lexie?" Zola asked.

"Yes baby." Derek said.

"You and daddy stay here with me and baby?" Zola asked putting a hand over Meredith's belly.

"Yes darling. We're staying. We are you and baby's mommy and daddy forever." Meredith said kissing Zola's head.

Zola grinned. "Baby name?" She asked.

"We don't have a name yet ZoZo, but you will help us pick one." Derek winked.

"Me help with baby! Love baby." Zola said smiling and kissing Meredith's belly.

Meredith and Derek locked eyes, both of them with teary eyes.

"Baby loves you too Zo. So much. Mommy and daddy love you so much." Meredith said holding Zola closer.

They hugged their little girl. Letting escape some tears. They loved how it all went. Zola had been so happy about having a sibling. And she

understood very well what Meredith and Derek explained to them.

They read her the big sister book then and tucked her in.

"Thank you." Meredith smiled and hugged Derek.

"For what?"

"Being you. Knowing it was time to tell Zola and never leaving my side." Meredith said.

"I'm never leaving. Post-it remember?" Derek smiled. "I'm so happy we told her, she took everything so well." He said.

"She did. She's so perfect." Meredith grinned.

They lay down in bed waiting for the baby to kick again so Derek would feel it.

"Wow! Oh i felt that!" Derek said while Meredith laughed. "Wow, we got a soccer player in there." They looked at each other with joy, they had to

make the most of this moment.

** So... What do you think about this chapter? Please REVIEW! It makes me so happy to read what you have to say! Starting this week i'm going to be a lot busier. But i promise i will give you at least a weekly update :) and i'll make sure to cover the storyline until Bailey's birth. Also, if you have requests on something you'd like to read about let me know. Thank you all for reading! Have a great week.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello everyone! First of all, I wanted to thank you for your amazing reviews, you're the best! I also wanted to thank Quintessa for her lovely suggestions. Well, as i told you previously, I'm super busy this season. But i'm not letting it stop me from writing updates (I love fan-fiction too much) Well, here i made a sequence of missing moments and longer moments of Episodes 14, 15 and 16 all together. As the main storyline is the same (The hospital selling I thought of merging the three episodes into one chapter for this fanfic. This is the only time i'm doing this, next updates will be one per episode. (in case you thought i was gonna wrap it up quickly). I really hope you like it, it's full of fluff, worries and typical MerDer interaction we love, and of course! Zola is in the mix too ;)**

**What Are We Gonna Do?**

Meredith walked out of the OR after scrubbing off. She quickly went to the attendings lounge and got dressed to go home. Cahill and Owen had gone to his office and started calling the interns and residents to make them talk about them breaking the "no Emergency attention" rule Cahill set up since dismantling the ER.

She headed there to catch up on what had been going on, hoping Owen wouldn't follow Cahill's instructions and put any of the interns on probation. She was walking distracted and bumped in to Derek in the hallway.

"Hey, where were you going?" He asked her with a smile.

"To see what Cahill is doing. I don't want her to talk Owen down to put any of the interns on probation or worse. They followed our instructions so

we are the ones responsible for it." Meredith said.

"I didn't know you cared so much about the interns." Derek smirked.

"Well, they're good Derek. They screw up sometimes, like Ross. But they're good doctors." Meredith said.

"Yes they are. Well, don't worry. I was actually gonna tell you i already talked to Owen and Cahill about it. So did Alex. They won't do anything. You

saved that kid." Derek sighed. "If you hadn't done that, he would have never made it to another hospital." He reassured Meredith.

"Exactly. But Derek, you helped as well. If you hadn't covered us and helped us get the meds, we wouldn't have been able to save them."

Meredith stated. "And... I'm happy i could count on you for this. Back then, i don't think i would have told you something like that. You've never

liked me breaking the rules." She sighed.

"I know. I am glad you trusted me Mer. I guess you truly made me see things differently. My mom was right." He smiled.

Meredith smiled back. Suddenly, her phone and Derek's rang with a message alert.

"It's..."

"Callie" Meredith completed.

"What do you think this is about?" He asked.

"I don't know. She and Richard disappeared all day. Maybe it has something to do with the sale." She answered. "She asked me to call Cristina."

They went to the roof where Callie and Arizona were waiting for them. After a small talk in the freezing roof, they decided to go back downstairs and have a more private meeting at Meredith and Derek's. So they all grabbed their things and headed to the 'dream-house'. Meanwhile, Meredith was trying to contact Cristina, who wouldn't pick up the phone.

After the heated discussion that woke Zola up and after Callie and Arizona had left the house, Derek washed the glasses they used and headed to the living room.

Meredith went to check on Zola one last time, she was still fast asleep, so she gave her a kiss in her forehead and taking the baby monitor closed the door behind her. She walked slowly to the living room, where Derek was sitting thoughtful. Meredith lay on the couch beside him resting her back.

"You're tired." Derek said.

"Yeah, my back hurts a little. I guess I can't be standing for so long now." She smirked.

"You want me to rub your back?" he offered.

"Yes please." She said yawning. "Well, that was one unproductive meeting." Meredith sighed.

"It's not easy to get everyone to agree with what one person suggests." Derek said.

"Yeah, but we have to. If we don't find a solution that we all are ok with, everything will be in vain." She said worried.

"Yeah, i know. But we will, we'll figure something out." Derek assured her.

Meredith just nodded.

"Thank you for standing up for me like that." Derek said with a smirk.

"Of course. Arizona had no right to be so hideous and calling you up like that." Meredith stated.

"I know. But, it's comprehensible. She's still in pain for what happened. It's hard to get over a loss like that." Derek said.

"You know, Arizona went really far with that comment. It was completely out of place. It's not any of us to blame for what happened to her she isn't the only one who lost someone or something. Callie lost the father of her child. Sophia lost her dad. You lost your best friend, I lost my sister and because of that, we have all decided to do things that weren't the original plan. We've all had a hard time adjusting to our losses." Meredith said still upset.

"That's true. Let's just forget about it. You need to relax and rest." He said kissing her temple and laying beside her rubbing circles over her belly

while Meredith, who was clearly exhausted, dozed off to sleep.

* * *

After managing to get rid of Ross and pushing the elevator button, Meredith and Derek gasped seeing a giant photo of Derek's face covering the inside of the elevator doors.

"Okay, that's it." Derek said annoyed. "I did not sign up for this. I agreed that they could use my photo for brochures, not as wallpaper for the entire hospital! I'm going to talk to Cahill now." He said pissed off.

"Yeah, i'm sorry. You do look really great but it's ridiculous and annoying to see so many giant photos all over the place." Meredith said giggling a little.

"After the several secret meetings that had been held inside the van with Derek's lawyers, Derek looked for Meredith to ask her to do something.

"Hey." He said casually and gently grabbing her arm, pulled her aside to one of the meeting rooms.

"Hey, uhm, Cristina doesn't want to participate in our plan." Meredith said dissapointed.

"What? Why?" Derek asked confused.

"Because she doesn't want to lie to Owen. I told her it's something we HAVE to do. But you know how she is, she wouldn't listen." Meredith said frustrated.

"Well, we're gonna have to do it anyway. With or without her. There's something we need to do though. The lawyer needs the hospital's financial states." Derek said.

"Ok, so, can't we ask for them?" Meredith said.

"No, we're employees, they won't give them to us." He cleared his throat. "We're gonna have to get them on our own." He smirked as Meredith stared at him in shock.

"I could marry you again right now. You're so hot when you're nefarious." Derek whispered to Meredith's ear making her laugh.  
After getting Arizona's page and meeting with her, Callie and Cristina who ended up joining them in the backside of the hospital, the choice was clear: Act now or regret it forever.

"There's nothing else we can do that will work out" Derek reassured them.

"I can't believe we're all gonna quit." Callie said.

"This better work out. We really have no choice left." Arizona sighed.

Cristina didn't say anything. Meredith looked at her pleading for her to join them.

They all walked to the meeting room where the board's members, the pegasus team, Cahill and Owen were reunited. "This is it." Derek breathed and they walked in to the room.

"It's done." Meredith breathed out in the passenger seat as Derek drove them home. Zola was peacefully sleeping in her car seat, exhausted after a day of nonstop playing at day-care.

"It's done." Derek echoed.

"What if it doesn't work out?" Meredith asked worried.

"It is going to work out. We'll find investors that will agree to make a deal with us and we'll buy the hospital. It has to work out." Derek said trying to convince himself.

"Yeah, i know. We might find investors, but what if we don't? What are we gonna do then? Look for other jobs and move across the country?" Meredith asked with some anguish in her voice.

"I don't know." Derek sighed and held her hand with his right hand while grabbing the car-wheel with the left one.

* * *

Uncertainty. That was all they felt during the last week. All of the other investors had gave them 'no' for an answer, they had almost ran out of options. This was their last shot.

Meredith watched her husband climb off the helicopter. She tried to figure out his expression, but he was still too far away. As he walked shortening the distance and his facial expression became clear to her eyes, she felt her stomach drop. Derek's eyes, they weren't sparkly and shiny as they always were when he got what he wanted and succeeded.

His eyes looked a shade darker, his gaze unfocused, shifting from looking to the front and to the ground. There was no sparkle. Deep concern and frustration. They had been told no. Again. Except that this time was the last one. So it meant they were done. There was nothing else to do. Pegasus would buy the hospital and turn it into a crappy robot style run place.

Back at the house, Meredith switched to comfy sweatpants, a t-shirt and hoodie. She changed Zola onto her pj's and carried her to the living room where Derek was still working on his laptop.

"Derek you have to stop. There's nothing left to do." She sighed as she sat beside him with Zola on her lap and kissed him.

"I know, i'm writing recommendation letters for the interns." He said.

"Did you write one for Heather Brooks?" Meredith asked.

"Who?" He looked at her confused.

"Mousy." She sighed.

"Oh, no" he answered.

"I will." Meredith sighed.

"I can't believe we couldn't make it." Derek said.

"I really thought he would say yes when we brought Richard with us." Meredith admitted.

"Me too." Derek said as he closed his laptop. "I'll start making calls tomorrow to see where we can go to work." He sighed. "I don't know if we could get back to Seattle Grace." He said sadly.

"Yeah.." Meredith pouted. "Well, meanwhile this beautiful princess wants to watch an Elmo movie." She said trying to lighten their minds and smiling at Zola who had buried her head in Meredith's chest hugging her over her bump.

"We'll watch the movie with you Zo." Derek tickled her making her giggle. In the middle of all the bad things happening. They had Zola and the baby to make them forget their worries.

* * *

The next morning, after getting a phone call and the news they would have only dreamed of meeting at the hotel with Richard, the rest of the group and Katherine and Jackson Avery, they felt relief. Finally, they knew things would be alright. Of course none of them were exactly excited about Katherine's obviously nepotistical decision of making her son a member of the board, but still. The hospital would remain being what it had always been.

"Well, at least we got the hospital back and saved it from Pegasus' claws." Derek said.

"Yes. And Derek, Jackson is not a bad person. He's clearly pressured by his mother. But i honestly don't think he'll make a bad call or suggestion." Meredith reassured him.

"I guess you're right. I'm just worried, we're still gonna have to make some budget cuts and we shouldn't let that affect the hospital's structure." Derek said.

"I think we're past the hardest part." Meredith said.

"Hey, are you hungry?" Derek asked.

"I'm starving!" Meredith said and her stomach growled as a confirmation making Derek laugh.

"Clearly." He teased.

"Hey, it's partially your fault, this kid has your appetite and gets pissed when I don't eat what he or she wants." Meredith said in a humorous tone and Derek laughed.

"Let's pick up Zola and go get some lunch." He suggested taking Meredith's hand and leading her to the car.

**I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as i did writing it. Please REVIEW! It makes my day to read your lovely comments and suggestions. Stay tuned for next chapter, I'll update soon. Hope this was a good sunday read for you, have a great week!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello everyone! Thank you all for your amazing reviews! It's really motivating to keep writing. You are all lovely people. Well, this is based on ep. 18 when MerDer find out it's a boy! It's the road from worry and fear to hope and joy Mer goes through and of course, we get Derek as dreamy as always and gorgeous sweet, bubbly Zola. Hope you like it!**

**It's All Gonna Be Okay**

After Jackson had suggested the hospital's name change, which was unanimously approved, it felt like things would get better and the tension that had been emerging since Catherine named her son a representative of the Harper Avery Foundation in the board was fading away. After all, Jackson is a good person and he has come to know and get along with everyone just fine.

Meredith and Derek were deeply moved with the name, as it represented two of the most important people in their lives, who sadly, weren't with them anymore.

Meredith had finally managed to deal with her sister's death, but it was evident Derek hadn't arrived to that stage yet.

She had wanted to talk about it with him. However, handling their jobs which now were more demanding because of the countless meetings and decisions they had to be part of, taking time for Zola and thinking about everything they'd need for the baby didn't precisely allow them to take a moment to grieve over their lost loved ones.

After the ultrasound and preventive tests Derek made Meredith take in order for her to stop worrying about their child, he thought she would finally come to terms with her endless fears and lists of possible tragedies that could happen to them.

He knew she was scared something bad could occur, he was too. It was completely normal for them to be scared, but Derek was worried about Meredith. He didn't want her to stress herself and he wanted her to enjoy the pregnancy instead of constantly haunting herself with negative thoughts.

"I can't believe we're having a boy." Derek said with teary eyes as he helped Meredith get dressed at the OB's office.

"He's so beautiful." Meredith said smiling at the ultrasound photographs Connie had handed them.

"We should start getting more things for him, blue things." Derek smiled widely unable to content his excitement.

"Yeah, we should. We can start decorating the nursery." Meredith said with a big smile and sparkly eyes. Derek grinned watching her expression and kissed her. She had spent so much time worrying about the baby and he loved seeing her confident and happy.

"We're gonna tell Zola she's having a baby brother right?" Meredith asked him.

"I think we should, she'll be beyond excited." Derek smiled. "Let's go get her from day-care. We can tell her on the way home." He suggested.

"Alright." She smiled fixing her blouse and keeping the photographs inside her bag.

"Hey baby-girl!" Meredith and Derek greeted a tired Zola whose eyes lit up and suddenly got an energy boost watching her parents.

"Momma!" Zola called out and ran to hug Meredith who carefully lifted her.

"How was your day sweetheart?" Meredith asked after receiving a sloppy kiss from her daughter.

"I played with blocks." Zola said smiling.

"You built something princess?" Derek asked her.

"Uh hum." Zola said nodding. "I built a big castle." She said showing the size with her hands.

They walked to the parking lot where Derek secured Zola to her car chair and helped Meredith get in.

"Zo, you want to see a photo of the baby?" Meredith asked.

"Yes!" Zola said excited.

"Meredith turned a little and showed the photo to Zola. "See, this is the baby, it's a boy Zo, you're having a baby brother." She explained anxiously waiting for the little girl's reaction.

"Baby brother?!" Zola squealed.

"Isn't that great ZoZo?" Derek said.

"Yaay! He can play with me? Like boys in day-care?" Zola asked.

"Sure, he'll play with you sweetie, but you have to wait for him to grow bigger. He's gonna be very little when we meet him." Meredith explained.

"Oh..i will wait." Zola said firmly. Meredith and Derek both smiled at their daughter's reasoning. She is very smart.

"Here we are." Derek smiled as he parked the car outside the house. "Time to sleep Zo." Meredith said as they walked inside the house and Zola yawned.

"Story momma." Zola said.

"Of course, i will read you a story baby. Come on, lets get you on your pj's and you'll say good night to daddy." Meredith said taking her daughter to her room.

"Alright Zo, which pj's do you want tonight?" Meredith asked her.

"Uhm, Elmo ones!" Zola said. Apparently, no one could beat how cool Elmo was, not even when it came to clothing.

"Good girl, now lets brush your teeth and we'll go say night-night to daddy." Meredith told Zola.

Zola walked toward her parents room where Derek was keeping his sweater in the dresser.

"Night night daddy." Zola said and gave him a sloppy kiss.

"Good night princess, i love you so much." Derek said hugging her as she buried her head on his shoulder.

"Alright Zo, lets go to bed, i'll read you a story." Meredith said and Zola followed her.

About 10 minutes later, Meredith walked in to her room to put on her pajamas. She went to the bathroom to get ready for bed and lay down beside Derek who pulled her slightly over him so her head could rest on his chest and he could rub small circles on her belly.

"Thank you for taking me for an ultrasound and check ups." Meredith said intertwining her hand with Derek's.

"You're welcome. I needed to do something to help you keep calm." He said. "I hate seeing you worried all the time. Whenever we go shopping for Zola i watch you look at the newborns things and you have this beautiful smile and your eyes light up. But then it's like something inside you frightens you and it vanishes. And Mer it breaks my heart to see you that way." He sighed.

"You need to trust that everything is going to be alright." He told her. "You can't be scared something wrong will happen all the time. I know we've been through a batch of awful things. I understand why you're scared, i am too. But we can't let that take over the joy and blessing this represents." He said.

Meredith closed her eyes, taking in everything Derek had just said, letting it sink inside her mind. She knew it was evident she was worried, but she hated how much it affected her and Derek. She was upset at herself for making him feel like that.

"I'm sorry." She said softly, tears streaming down her face.

"I just... Derek this baby is one of the best things that's ever happened to us. I have wanted this for so long, after what happened with the shooting and everything that followed i thought we'd never get that chance again. And now here we are, we got another opportunity and it's such a beautiful blessing. I just kept thinking that i couldn't allow it to slip away..again." She said wiping her tears.

"And i am so sorry i've made you feel bad with my attitude and endless worries. What you said is true. Right from the beginning, good things DO happen to us Derek. Look at everything we've been through, we've lost so much... Yet we still have everything we need to be happy." She looked up and saw he had tears in his eyes.

"I have been so deeply concerned over every single thing that may go wrong. And i'm not saying i'm not worried anymore, because it's impossible to ignore risk factors. But today, at the ultrasound appointment, seeing our baby, so beautiful, big and healthy. Hearing his heart beat, watching and feeling him move something clicked inside of me and i just felt and knew that everything is going to be alright."

Derek smiled and looked at her in awe. Those words, those exact words of faith, hope and trust is what he had been dreaming for her to say.

"It WILL all be okay Mer. We have each other, we have Zola and a beautiful healthy baby boy we'll hold in two months; that's all that matters, it's all we need and we have it, and it won't go away, ever." He reassured her and kissed her forehead.

"I love you Derek." She said in the sweetest voice.

"I love you too Mer, so much."

"I wish Mark and Lexie were here to meet our baby." Meredith sighed.

"Me too. They would have been so happy. Mark would have been so excited about the baby being a boy. He probably would have gotten him dozens of soccer balls and started writing down tips for him to rule the playground." Derek laughed. "I miss him, and Lexie, i miss them a lot. I'm...upset they're not here. It's..." He said.

"I know." she sighed. "I am too. They should both be here, it's okay to miss them and talk about them. We'll make sure Zola never forgets them and the baby will know about them. He'll know how great his uncle Mark and aunt Lexie were." Meredith gave him a smile and held his hand.

"They will." Derek smiled back and kept rubbing circles in Meredith's belly. Suddenly, they felt a kick.

"Hey baby." Derek said in the most tender tone. "We can't wait to meet you."

"Daddy and i love you so much baby. And your big sister Zola loves you too." Meredith cooed and the baby kept moving.

"I think he's excited to meet us too." Derek smiled. "We both have the day free tomorrow. Why don't we go buy some things for him. Lets take Zola with us so she helps choose." Derek suggested.

"Yeah, let's do that! We need clothes and some furniture too, he won't be able to share too many things with Zo." Meredith pointed out.

"I'll paint the nursery and put wallpaper on it." Derek grinned.

The following afternoon, after getting back home with a bunch of bags containing clothes, baby accessories, blankets, pillows, toys, paint and wallpapers; Meredith and Derek stored them all in the room they picked to be the nursery.

"It's going to look so cute when it's done." She said excited.

"He'll love it." Derek grinned watching her smiled full of joy like a little kid on Christmas day.

Meredith put some of the clothes and toys inside the drawers and on top of the shelves. She smiled looking at the things her son would be wearing in two months, finally letting herself believe it would all turn out great.

**Well...i hope you liked it! Please REVIEW! It makes my day to read your lovely comments! Thank you for reading and stayed tuned for next chapter! I'll update ASAP. Have a great week! :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey everyone! First of all, i wanted to thank each and every one of you for your amazing reviews! You are the sweetest people! Second of all, i wanted to apologize for taking so long in updating. I know it's been forever but my schedule has been literally nonstop! It's so hectic! but well, here i am with a new chapter. I promise to update regularly. Because i want to finish this fanfic before S10 starts ;) Well, this one is based on ep. 19. A fluffy cute starting scene that i really really hope Shonda will sometime write and include in an episode and a much darker ending, but with a glimpse of hope as always. Hope you like it! **

**What The Future Holds**

"Zola's up" Meredith said pushing Derek away and abruptly stopping their morning make out session.

"No, she's still asleep. We're good." Derek reassured her and kissed her back.

"No, no. She's up." Meredith insisted pulling away.

"Did you hear something?" He asked.

"No" she said naturally.

"But you know she's up..." He said skeptical.

"Yes." She nodded with a smile.

He looked at her and sighed, climbed out of bed and headed to open the door.

When he looked down saw Zola holding her stuffed penguin over her head with a big smile quickly turning around and running down the hallway. This seemed to be the toddler's idea of a perfect morning greeting.

Derek turned around and Meredith's lips curled up into a smile as she nodded and her eyes sparkled with happiness.

He definitely couldn't understand how Meredith was able to feel Zola being awake without even hearing her. But this amazing maternal instinct his wife had left him in awe every time.

He smiled back and went chasing after Zola roaring like a lion while the little girl ran screaming in excitement until her father's gentle arms caught her and lifted her, Zola laughing as Derek carried her back to his and Meredith's master bedroom where Meredith was still sitting in the bed, comfortably curled up against the pillows and covered with sheets and blankets.

"This little princess was running down the hallways, so i had to catch her and bring her here to be my prisoner." Derek said faking a deep villain voice. He sat on the bed next to Meredith with Zola in his arms.

Meredith grinned and played along. "Oh no, Zo, what are we gonna do?"

"Save me mommy!" Zola squealed as Derek tickled her.

"I'm gonna save you from the tickling monster baby!" Meredith said stretching to reach out for Derek and started to tickle him.

"Hey! that's not fair. You can't tickle the tickling monster!" He said waving his hands, releasing Zola and giving Meredith the opportunity to take her and snuggle with her.

"Come here my princess!" Meredith said with a smile placing Zola on her lap fitting her as best as she could around her ever growing bump.

Zola clinged to Meredith and gave her a sloppy kiss, placing her hands on her mom's bump and burying her head on Meredith's chest.

Derek grinned at the adorable scene, watching Zola and Meredith bonding together melted his heart, especially seeing the sparkle of pure joy in Meredith's eyes. He was mesmerized by it.

"So now you're free from the tickling monster Zo, but i can still get you and momma!" Derek said and softly pulled Meredith towards him and tickled her a little.

Meredith giggled and then burst onto laughter "No Derek please stop!" She said in between laughter. Zola was ecstatic watching her parents laugh playfully around her.

Derek planted a soft kiss on Meredith's lips and tickled her a little more making he laugh "Ok please stop! Now i gotta rush to pee, remember i barely have control over my bladder?!" She said still giggling.

"Alright miss ZoZo, come here with daddy, momma's gotta go to the bathroom." Derek said lifting Zola and helping Meredith out of the bed.

"I'll be back in a minute." Meredith said smiling.

Derek and Zola stayed sitting playing with her penguin. Meredith came out of the bathroom to join them. She sat next to Derek. He shifted so she'd be comfortable leaning her back against his chest.

"Baby brother?" Zola asked with a smile.

"Your baby brother is awake, he's happy to hear your voice." Meredith said. "Oh, he's moving, you want to feel him and talk to him?" She asked Zola.

"Yeah!" Zola said and placed her hand on Meredith's belly as she was taught.

"Morning baby, it's ZoZo. Me love you." She said.

Meredith and Derek grinned at their daughter's sweetness.

"Who wants some breakfast?" Derek offered.

"Mhmm i think we all do!" Meredith smirked.

"I'll make you some pancakes, sounds good?"

"Perfect." She said and they all climbed down from the bed. Derek went to the kitchen and Meredith took Zola to change her.

They enjoyed breakfast and then headed to the hospital for the busy day that awaited them.

Meredith was completely drained after her shift. Watching Casey go through so much uncertainty, feeling so helpless and worried about her little son made her think and fear she could ever go through the same with her kids.

After talking to Bailey, discussing the procedure of the genome mapping and when Bailey was finished getting the samples to map Meredith and Zola, she said goodbye and headed to Derek's office to meet him before they went back home.

Derek was on his desk, finishing surgery paperwork when he heard the door open softly and saw Meredith come in. She was carrying a soundly asleep Zola who was hugging Meredith's neck with her little arms and resting her head on Mer's chest.

Derek was mesmerized with the adorable scene. He knew and felt each day that Meredith was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. But watching her now, glowing and with the beautiful bump that adorned her figure, holding their daughter as well, he was sure it was the most gorgeous she had ever looked. He was so in love with her.

Derek quickly stood up and walked toward her. "Mer, you shouldn't be carrying Zola for too long." He said.

"Come on, i'll take her and lie her on the portable seat she has here." He said gently taking Zola from Meredith's arms.

After laying her he came back to Meredith. She smiled at him, with her beautiful radiant smile, but it wasn't the one full of joy he loved so much. It was a smile that hid pain and worry. He knew it well.

"Meredith, what's wrong?" He asked softly as they both sat on the couch.

"I... Today has been a long day. I had a single mom whose five year old son had been miss diagnosed with streptococco. She knew he wasn't getting better and it was something else. But no one listened to her. So i took the case and ran a bunch of tests, we finally diagnosed Kawasaki disease." Meredith said.

"Oh wow." Derek said surprised at the particularity of the case.

"Yeah, imagine if she had just gone home with her son. He would have died." Meredith said.

"But he didn't. He didn't because of you. Because you listened to his mom and made sure every other disease could be discarded." Derek said amazed at his wife's empathy. He loved the fact that she was willing to do more in order to help people. She never gave up.

"Yeah. But, it got me thinking. I can't even imagine going through something like that with out kids." She said. "You know, Bailey is doing a genome map... I asked her to map me and Zola." Meredith breathed out.

"Okay. I..think it's actually a good idea." Derek said reasauring.

"I just... I want to make sure we know if Zola has a tendency to acquire any disease, so we can act beforehand. And we can do the same with the baby when he's born." Meredith said.

"Yeah, we will. It's better to take all the preventive measures." He affirmed.

"And i got mine because... I want to know if i'm gonna get Alzheimer's." she swallowed dryly.

"Mer..." Derek said barely in a whisper.

"I know we've discussed this before, and we said we'd see what to do when it happens if it does ever happen. But Derek, it's not just the two of us anymore. We have Zola and the baby, we can't risk not knowing if i'm gonna forget you all." She said letting a tear escape.

"Mer... I know you're scared. It's okay. I am too. But i promise you whatever the outcome is. There is nothing we won't do to make sure you never have to go through what your mother went and we'll make sure the kids are healthy and happy as well okay? I'm not letting anything wrong happen to any of you." He said.

Meredith nodded and Derek held her and hugged her, taking the strand of her that was over her face and placing it behind her ear.

Meredith looked up at him. "Thank you... Bailey will have the results in a couple of days." She said.

"Okay." Derek asnwered and kissed her deeply. Meredith let herself get lost in the moment, feeling safe in Derek's arms. Knowing that no matter what, they would do everything to keep their children safe.

Moments later, they drove home. Derek carried Zola to her bedroom and he and Meredith tucked her in.

They fell asleep in a warm embrace, both of them placing their intertwined hands over Meredith's belly, ocassionally feeling their baby boy move. Reminding them that as much as the future had uncertainty and worries, it also brought blessings and endless joy.

**Well what did you think?! Loved it? Hated it? Please REVIEW! Reviews make my day and inspire and encourage me to keep writing. Hope you all have a great weekend and i promise to give you an update for next week. Thank you so much for reading!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hi everyone! I'm so sorry for taking so long in updating! My life has been and will continue to be crazy busy during this month and the next one. But as i told you, i will finish this story before Season 10 premiere :) Thank you all so much for supporting this story and staying tuned to read and review my updates, it means a lot to know you like it and share thoughts with me. Well, this chapter is based on the aftermath of episode 21 and is mainly focussed on episode 22. I loved the tea party MerDer had with Zola, and i felt the 45 seconds we got weren't enough, so i decided to extend them a little and plan a small surprise as well. Hope you enjoy it! Have a great weekend and stay tuned for the next and final update! When baby Bailey is born :) **

**They'll Get Along**

Meredith walked down the hallways of the hospital after another failed attempt of getting Bailey out of the lockdown she had put herself under.

As she headed to the attendings lounge, Richard approached to her.

"Meredith, i heard things didn't go as expected with Bailey. She still refuses to come out huh?" He said preoccupied.

"Yeah." Meredith sighed. "Losing those patients, it has affected her deeply you know? Even though we know it was the gloves which allowed the virus to break loose and infect the patients; she still feels like it's all her responsibility and she's carrying all that weight over her shoulders." Meredith said saddened.

"I know she does. But she has to get over it and move on, sooner rather than later. You know it's going to happen." Richard told her.

"Yes, but in the meantime. I'm worried about how much more she's gonna emotionally hurt herself." Meredith said.

"Well, she know she's got your support. But i thought she needed support from someone else closer to her... So i called Ben. He'll be here soon, he climbed on to the first plane here." Richard explained.

"I think, that's good. Maybe he'll be able to talk her down." Meredith reflected.

"I have faith he will." Richard told her. "Look at how you managed to bring Derek back after he lost that patient a couple of years ago." Richard pointed out.

"I did." Meredith nodded. "But it took me a while, it wasn't easy at all. And Derek was so broken, it made it even harder for me to change his mind. You should warn Ben it might get tough. He just has to be comprehensive and not give up." Meredith said firmly.

"I'll make sure to let him know that." Richard assured her.

"She'll come around Richard. She's Bailey. She just... Needs time." Meredith said.

"Yeah." Richard nodded. "You heading home to rest? It was quite a long day." He said trying to change the subject.

"I am." Meredith smiled. "I'm going to change and go get Zola while Derek fills up the charts of his last patient." Meredith said and yawned after saying the last sentence.

"Go get some sleep and relax. You've been working a lot these days." Richard said.

Meredith rolled her eyes slightly at the protective remark that everyone seemed to be making lately.

"I will. Don't worry about me Richard, i'm fine, really." She reassured him with a smile.

"I know you are. And Meredith, you're doing an amazing job. At everything." He told her proudly.

"Thank you." She grinned feeling proud of herself and taking in Richard's compliment. She saw the fatherly pride in his eyes and thought that if her mother was still alive, maybe...just maybe, she'd be just as proud of her.

"I'll see you tomorrow then." Richard concluded.

"Have a good night Richard." Meredith smiled and walked away.

After taking off her scrubs and slipping into a comfortable pair of maternity jeans and sweater, she headed to day care to pick up Zola.

"Momma!" The little girl cheered when she saw her come in.

"Hey sweetie! Did you have fun today?" Meredith asked her.

"Uh huh, i colored." Zola said proudly showing her mom the drawings she had made.

"They're beautiful Zo! We have to show them to daddy. He's gonna love them." Meredith said with a wide smile. "Come on baby girl, we're going home early today." She said picking up Zola's bag-pack and taking her hand to walk her out.

"Thank you Karen. See you tomorrow." Meredith greeted the nurse in charge.

"You're welcome Dr. Grey. See you tomorrow. Bye Zola!" She said.

"Byeee!" Zola said waving her little hand.

They climbed to the elevator and descended to the lobby, where Derek would be waiting for them.

The doors opened and Derek turned around to face them with a wide smile on his face.

"There's daddy Zo!" Meredith said smiling.

Zola didn't wait longer and ran straight to Derek's open arms, he lifted her and spun her around. "Hey princess! How was your day?" He said cheerfully.

"Fun!" Zola squealed giggling at the tickles.

"I'm glad you had fun sweetie." Derek told her.

"Hey!" He faced Meredith and kissed her.

"Hey." She grinned.

"Ready to go home?" He asked her.

"Yeah, my back hurts a little." She said.

"Awe Mer. Come on, i'll get you some tea and give you a massage when we get home." He offered.

"Mhm, that sounds great, thanks." She smiled.

"Tea party!" Zola said.

"You want to have a tea party at home Zozo?" Meredith cooed at her.

"Yes!" Zola said excited.

"We'll play with you after we have dinner ok honey?" Derek said.

"Kay!" Zola said happily.

Derek drove them home and prepared tea for Meredith, who was lying on the sofa resting her back and feet.

"Are you feeling better?" He asked her as she took a sip of her tea while he rubbed circles on her back.

"Yeah, much better, thank you." She smiled leaning in to him.

"Richard called Ben to come and talk to Bailey." She told him.

"Oh, that's good i think. Maybe he'll be able to help her and convince her to get back to work." Derek said.

"That's exactly what i told him. I hope it works." She admitted.

"Yeah, me too." He said and kissed her temple.

"Tea party!" Zola said showing them the playing table she had set.

"Alright sweetie, let's have a tea party." Meredith smiled.

"Momma tiger." Zola said handing Meredith a headband with tiger ears on it.

"Okay Zo, i'll be a tiger." Meredith giggled putting on the headband as Derek laughed.

"You look so cute with tiger ears." He teased her.

"Daddy tiara!" Zola said handing him a princess tiara.

"Zo, but daddy isn't a girl to wear a tiara." Derek tried to reason.

"Daddy, tiara. Please?" Zola repeated.

Derek sighed and smiled, taking the tiara placing it on top of his head.

"She's got you rapped around her little finger." Meredith teased him back giggling.

"She's bossy. I wonder where she picked that from?" He smirked making Meredith laugh.

They enjoyed staring in awe at their daughter who delicately served them tea and pastries in her purple princess dress.

After playing with Zola and putting her down to sleep, they went to their bedroom to get ready to sleep as well.

"Mer, you really think Zola and the baby will get along?" Derek asked again, still a little worried.

"I'm sure they will." Meredith said confidently. "Of course they'll have fights, as all siblings do. But they'll love each other. And we won't let them take advantage and be mean to each another." She assured him as she lay on the bed.

"Yeah, i know. It's just that, today i had this little girl. She needed surgery, her parents and her little brother were in the room and while i tried to talk to them about her surgery, the little boy wouldn't stop being rambunctious and he kept yelling and running around, teasing her. In the end, the parents had to chase after him and i explained practically everything only to her." He sighed.

"And it made me think, i don't want any of our kids to be that way. I want them to get along. And i'm afraid Zola or the baby will ever feel left out when we have to focus on one of them." He admitted.

"I..." Meredith sighed. "I think it's okay to be worried about it. I am, or used to be very worried about it too." She said taking Derek's hand.

"But Derek, first of all, none of our kids would ever be as undisciplined and rambunctious as the little boy you saw. Because we'll make sure to educate them to be nice, polite and respectful. Second of all, they will get along, as i told you, it's not gonna be all rainbows and sunshine between them, but they'll love each other and they'll get along perfectly." She took a deep breath.

"And finally, we're never gonna let any of them feel left out. That's one of my biggest fears as well. But at the same time, we both want to avoid it so badly, that i know we will manage to balance everything between them and make sure they feel equally loved all the time." She said.

"You're absolutely right Mer." Derek smiled and kissed her.

"We'll make sure both of them always have the same of everything." He said. "And we're never letting our kids to be monsters to each other or anyone else." He affirmed.

"Exactly." Meredith nodded.

"It's gonna be fun to watch Zola convincing him to wear a tiara or tiger ears." Derek laughed.

"A lot of things are gonna be so much fun to watch." Meredith giggled, her and Derek rubbing her belly softly. Suddenly they felt the baby move.

"I think he agrees." Derek winked.

"Yeah, i think he does." Meredith smiled.

Three days later, things were almost completely back to normal.

Bailey was back at work, but she still refused to participate in any surgeries or even touch patients. She hid doing paperwork and assigning cases.

No one wanted to put more pressure on her, they all knew it was hard for her, and it had been a great accomplishment for Ben to talk her down to going back to work and leave the lockdown.

Meredith's due date was getting closer, and even though they had everything they needed, Derek felt it would be nice for Meredith to have a baby shower.

Of course she wasn't the type of person that got super excited about those things. She didn't care and Derek knew she'd never ask for one. But he still felr that if they did something simple, with close friends, Meredith would like it and have fun.

So he went on his secret plan and decided to organize a baby shower for Meredith. He talked with Cristina and Alex, both of them agrred that Mer would never come up with the idea, but they also knew that of they kept it low key and familiar, she'd definitely love it.

Callie, Arizona,Owen, Jackson, April, Richard and Bailey were part of the plan as well.

They decided to have it at the hospital, something similar to Callie's baby shower. So it wouldn't be the typical shower in a house or a restaurant and that way it would be simple and low key.

The attendings lounge was big enough for all of them to fit comfortably. So they all took turns on decorating, placing food and moving furniture around to make it more spacious.

Callie and Arizona were in charge of the decoration. Jackson, Richard and Derek moved things around and set a table with lots of gifts on it. Alex and April took care of the food and Owen and Cristina kept Meredith away from the lounge until it was time.

It was all pretty easy, considering they had all bought the things two days before and all they had to do was set them up during the morning.

Lunch break was the perfect timing, as everyone was free for at least an hour.

Owen gave Meredith a couple of cases and Cristina managed to keep track of her so the surprise wouldn't be ruined.

By lunchtime, Derek went to meet Meredith and walked her to the attendings lounge.

"Derek why are we having lunch there?" Meredith asked.

"I just had something special i saved for you there." He smirked.

"What is it?" She asked

"Just wait and see." He said and opened the door to reveal their friends sitting inside greeting them with wide smiles

"I knew you wouldn't want a big thing. But you couldn't not have a baby shower Mer. So...we made this." He said.

Meredith grinned looking at the nice decorations, the food and rapped up presents displayed over the tables.

"Thank you all. This is...perfect." She said smiling widely. Looking back at Derek her eyes got teary, she was very certain it had to do with her pregnancy hormones, but this was a beautiful detail and eveb though she didn't think about having a baby shower, this one was exactly what she would have wanted.

They all chatted and had lunch, sharing laughs and typical conversations about their patients and work. Arizona organized two games in which they all participated and shared more giggles and teased each other.

Finally, they handed the presents to Meredith and Derek and played the classic guess what it is and who bought it game.

After it was over, they all headed back to work giving an end to the special ocassion.

"Thank you for doing this." Meredith told Derek before he went to perform a surgery.

"You're welcome, i'm glad you liked it." He smiled and kissed her.

"So you really liked it?" Alex and Cristina asked.

"I did. So much. Thank you, it was perfect. Thank you for arranging this, and the presents for the baby are beautiful, thank you all." Meredith smiled.

"You're welcome, we're happy you liked them." Arizona and Callie said.

"He's gonna look so cute in those onesies." April squealed looking at the tiny pieces of clothing.

"And you gotta bring him on this one." Jackson said showing the onesie with medical instruments on it.

"Your kid's gonna be a sensation here Mer. Just like Zola is already." Alex said smiling.

"We gotta make sure he learns basic anatomy before he turns one." Cristina smirked.

"Definitely, dude, i mean Zola and him will be the two genius mini Mer and mini Shepherd." Alex said making everyone giggle.

Meredith rubbed her belly and smiled. Terrible things did happen. But moments like these, those are the priceless moments that fill the heart with joy.

When her, Derek and Zola got home, Derek unloaded the presents from the car and placed them in the nursery. Meredith folded the clothes and put them in the drawers, they kept the toys in the closet and took zippy cups and plate sets to the kitchen counters.

Later, they lay on the sofa and watched a movie with Zola sleeping in Meredith's arms. Somehow she could still fit around Mer's bump, comfortably holding on to her.

"I can't wait for when we have him in our arms as well." Derek said.

"Neither can i. It's going to be amazing." Meredith smiled.

**Well, what did you think about it? PLEASE REVIEW! I wanted to include Derek's concern for Zola and the baby getting along. Mer is more optimistic here as we saw her turn since she saw her baby boy and started talking about the birth, so i wanted to portray that in this chapter. As for the baby shower, i have to admit i was very disappointed Mer didn't have one in the series, cause Callie did (even though it ended badly) but still! So i went for the low key special baby shower for our special Mer :) Hope you liked it! Stay tuned for the epilogue of this story! And thank you again so much for your support and for taking your time to read and review! You're all lovely people **


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello everyone! How have you been?! I hope you're ready for the last chapter of this fic and even more ready for S10 premiere in 6 days! First of all, i wanted to thank each and every one of you for reading my story, for your continuous support and amazing reviews. It means a lot to know that the effort i put in writing is appreciated, and it means so much more to know you actually like what you read! Thank you all for making the journey of writing Way To The Future amazing :) a special thanks goes to Quintessa, CileSuns92, MichelleBell16 and MsKylie93 for always suporting and collaborating with great opinions and ideas. Well, that being said... I wrote a massive final chapter, i thought it was appropriate and i apologize if i made you wait more than you wished, but life's still hectic, as i previously said. So i had a little free time this afternoon and started writing from scratch nonstop until i finished it. I got inspired and carried away by my major Fangirling after the amazing photos, sneak peeks and Shonda's tweet today clarifying Derek Bailey Shepherd's name ❤️❤️ So i really hope this chapter lives up to your expectations, giving this fic the ending it deserves and as a last distraction while we anxiously wait for next thursday night! We made it fandom! Thanks again, so much! I'll leave you to read the story and i'll continue rambling at the end.**

**_Suggested soundtrack that was a source if inspiration: Ellie Goudling- How Long Will I Love You_**

**How Long Will I Love You**

One hour and ten minutes, that's how long Derek had been sitting over a hospital bed with Cristina beside him. Except that it didn't feel like one hour and ten minutes, it felt like an eternity.

Anguish had taken over him, sitting like this reminded him to a couple of years ago, when Meredith drowned, he was exasperated, uncertain of what would happen, thinking about how it could NOT be possible that this was the last time he had seen her. The difference was that this time, it was MUCH worse.

Not only did he have to think about losing Mer, about how it would destroy him. Because last time, well, last time he didn't even know for sure if he'd have Meredith for the rest of his life, things were still unsettled.

But now, she couldn't die. Mer, his Mer. The love of his life, the mother of his children, they had agreed to be together forever. This was their lifetime, this was the forever part. And forever couldn't end now.

Mer couldn't leave just yet. He was the one to die in her arms when he was110 years old.

Memories crossed Derek's mind. He and Meredith had been through so much together.

_Pain..  
"Pick me, choose me, love me."_

_Regret...  
"I've been in love with you forever." "Because when i had to make a choice... I chose wrong."_

_Angst...  
"I can't leave you, but you're constantly leaving me."_

_Hope...  
"I don't want 48 uninterrupted hours. I want a lifetime." "I want to marry you. I want to have kids with you. I want to grow old with you." Tears streamed down his face as he remembered that day._

_Growth...  
"I was gonna tell you that this right here, is gonna be our kitchen. And that's the room where our kids could play."_

_"We can be extraordinary together rather than ordinary apart."_

_Commitment...  
"I love you Meredith Grey, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you."_

_Promises...  
"This is forever." "So this is our wedding? A post-it?"_

_Fear and loss...  
"You can't leave me. If you die i die!"_

_Joy...  
"Derek, isn't that our baby?"_

_"Oh my God, Derek she's walking!"_

_"We are gonna have another baby."_

There was just so much, so many things, and there was so much more they had ahead. This couldn't be over just yet.

Derek trembled at the thought of losing her, of only having the memories. There was no way that could happen. They had barely seen Zola grow a little, they had been a little over a year in the new house, and the baby, Mer didn't even get to hold him or tell Derek what she wanted his name to be.

He just knew he could never imagine his life and his kids life without Mer. Knowing she was lying on that operating table under so much risk was killing him. He'd give anything to have her by his side, safe and sound. He would do anything, but this time...there was nothing he could do.

Tears streamed slowly down his cheeks, every now and then Cristina and him would lock eyes and sighed, both of them seemed to be struggling to say something, but there was nothing to be said. They just had to hope and pray to God that their person would make it.

When the OR doors finally opened, an exhausted Bailey came out, walking slowly.

She took her mask off and started trembling as she talked "Meredith had a massive spleen bleed, I removed it but she.." Bailey chocked and trembled uncontrollably.

"Oh God." Cristina snapped.

Derek's face went pale and his heart stopped. This could not be true. He jumped and rushed into the OR with Cristina behind him.

They stormed inside and saw their two interns standing beside Meredith.

"She's fine. Bailey did it." Ross said.

"With an assist from Dr. Ross." Brooks clarified.

"Bailey decided that with the power out it's safer to keep her here until she wakes up." Ross said nervously.

"She's alive?" Cristina chocked.

"She's alive." Derek sighed in relief and kissed Meredith's forehead.

Bailey came back in.

"I'm sorry..guys.. I didn't mean to..to cry and scare you..i just oh!" She broke down in tears as Derek kissed her on the cheek and hugged her tight.  
Derek came back taking a chair and he sat by Meredith's side holding her hand.

"You gave me quite a scare Mer. Please don't do that ever again. We need you. I love you so much." He said and softly kissed her lips.

She looked so fragile and pale on that OR table. She had lost a large amount of blood. But shades of pink were slowly starting to cover her face.

"Cristina, i'm going to check on the baby for a minute okay? Can you stay with her and page me if she wakes up while i'm gone?" He asked her.

"Of course, i'll let you know if anything happens. Go." Cristina have him a smile and took Derek's place beside Meredith.

Derek rushed to the NICU to check on his little boy. Alex was taking care of him.

"Hey, he's breathing perfectly, very strong heartbeat and he's responding well to everything. Your kid's perfect Shep." Alex told him.

"Thank you so much Alex." Derek sighed.

"How's Mer doing?" Alex asked.

"She's stable now. Her splinter broke, possibly as a consequence of her fall yesterday. Bailey operated on her and saved her." Derek said with teary eyes, reliving the pain and fear with every word he spoke.

"Oh my God. But she's fine now right? She's going to be alright..?" Alex asked concerned.

"She'll be fine. She hasn't woken up just yet, but she's stable and getting better." Derek said softly.

"She'll be alright man. She's Mer, she's tough, she's a fighter." Alex said firmly. "And this little man is just like his mom." He smiled proudly at the baby.

Derek smiled watching his son. He picked him up and cooed, softly pacing with him in arms, caressing him and soothing him.

"Hey little one. You're doing great. Thanks for being good to uncle Alex. Your mommy is going to be fine. You'll see her soon okay? I just need you to be patient a little longer." He said as he kissed his baby's forehead.

Meanwhile, Cristina was sitting beside Meredith, observing the OR in the dark, illuminated by some dim lights. She suddenly felt Meredith move under the covers and heard her wince a little.

"Mer?" Cristina said.

"Huh, ouhh." Meredith winced and turned her head to face her opening her eyes.

"Oh God Mer. You're awake. You'll be alright. I know you're in pain. Dr. Bailey operated on you, you had a massive hemorrhage so she had to remove your spleen, but you'll be fine." Cristina told her.

Meredith looked at her, processing everything she had just been told. She smiled weakly. "Thank you." She said. "The baby,Der.." She started.

"Derek's with the baby, the baby's fine by the way. Derek's been here all the time and went to check on him for a little while, but i'll page him right away." Cristina said.

Meredith held Cristina's hand tightly.

"Mer, please don't do that again. You got me worried for a while thinking i'd have to take over and be your kid's mom." Cristina said teasing as she usually did.

Meredith just smiled at her comment. This was Cristina Yang being her person, showing her affection in her own peculiar way.

"Don't worry, you're not getting rid of me that easily." Meredith smirked.

"I know. You just enjoy messing with us." Cristina laughed. "But seriously, how are you feeling?"

"Very sore. But so much better than before. I was losing a lot of blood." Meredith said and Cristina nodded.

"Well, you're starting to get some color in your face so that's a good sign. And...you're in full mommy mode cause you haven't stopped glaring at my pager and the door waiting for Derek to show up with news of the baby." Cristina smirked and Meredith giggled.

At the NICU, Derek got Cristina's page and handed Bailey to Alex. "Mer's awake." He told him.

"I'll be right back."

"Go, don't worry. Your baby's in good hands." Alex smiled at him.  
Derek ran to the OR where Meredith was, he opened the door and his eyes met hers. A smile was drawn across Meredith's face when she saw him come in.

"I'll leave you two alone. I have to go help and check on other patients, i'll visit later ok?" Cristina said.

Meredith nodded. "Thank you." She said softly.

Cristina stood up and left, giving Derek a soft palm on his shoulder as she crossed his path.

"Hey" Meredith said.

"Mer." Derek rushed to her side and kissed her softly. "God Mer, you got me so worried. I was so afraid of losing you. We can't lose you ever." Derek breathed out and tears fell down his face.

"Hey, i.. I'll be okay. Cristina told me. Bailey saved me and i'm going to be fine." She told him caressing his cheek with her hand.

"I love you so much." Derek told her.

"Me too." She grinned. "How's the baby?" Meredith asked.

"He's perfect, he's been under observation. I was with him, he's breathing and responding perfectly to everything, he's amazing Mer. He's beautiful, he looks just like you." Derek told her proudly.

Meredith grinned and tears rolled down her face as well. Unable to contain the emotions of everything that had happened to them in this past few hours.

"And Zo?" She asked. "She's at day care, fast asleep." Derek said with a smile.

"Derek, I want to see them." Meredith said anxiously.

"You will, very soon. Let's get you into a post-op room first and then i'll go pick them up so you can see them alright?" He offered smiling and kissing her again.

"Okay." Meredith grinned.

Thankfully, the power was on again so Derek and the interns took Meredith to a room. Shane and Heather helped setting up their things and preparing a basinet for the baby.

Once they had it all settled, Derek tenderly took Meredith in his arms and lifted her to lay her down on the hospital bed.

"Your hand, be careful not to hurt yourself." Meredith said.

"Mer, my hand's fine, plus, you're light as a feather. Are you okay like that or do you want me to help you sit down a little more?" He asked.

"I'm perfect." She smiled.

"Page us if you need anything sir." Ross said.

"I will, thank you guys." Derek smiled at the interns who delicately left.

"Okay, now i'm gonna settle the IV so it doesn't go in the way while you hold the baby." Derek smiled.

"Are you comfortable?" He asked her once more.

"Yeah, very. I'm just anxious to see him." Meredith said.

"I'll bring him in first. And i'll get Zola later okay?" He said.

"That's perfect." She smiled as he quickly left to get the baby leaving Meredith with other interns.

"Mer wants to see him." Derek said coming in to the NICU.

"I'm sure she's anxious." Alex said. "Here, we got him dressed and ready to see his mommy." He told him smiling at Jo.

"Thank you guys, i'll be back later." Derek grinned taking his baby boy in arms and going back to Meredith's room.

"You're going to see your mommy now." He told the baby. "She's very excited to see you, be good to her okay?" He cooed.

When he finally reached the door to Meredith's room, he took a deep breath and opened the door.

"Someone here came to see his mommy." Derek grinned. The words echoing inside his head making his heart burst with joy. He had dreamed about this moment so many times, he knew it would be amazing. But this was a kind of amazing he had never experienced, watching Meredith's expression when se saw the baby in his arms melted his heart, this was far beyond perfect.

"Hey.." Meredith said softly, extending her arms to receive the baby and hold him.

"Hi baby boy." She grinned. The baby opened up his eyes widely and looked at Meredith's. At that precise moment, it was as if the whole world had stopped. Everything was quiet and calm, peace, love and joy taking over the place.

Meredith had seen the look in the mother's faces when they first held their newborn babies, she had just never imagined it would feel this way.

Meredith blinked countless times, reassuring herself that it was her son she was holding. She smiled brightly staring at the tiny human that was in her arms. He was perfect, their miracle baby. Healthy and happy.

"He's so beautiful and little." She said looking up to Derek.

"He's amazing. He looks so much like you. His nose, lips, his hair, he's exactly like you." Derek said smiling not being able to take his eyes from his son and Meredith.

They both smiled at their son with love and pride. He stirred in his mothers arms, staring at his parents with wide eyes.

The baby whimpered a little, Meredith cooed and soothed him. "I know." She said. "I missed you too so much my love, but i'm here now. I'm never letting you go." She said kissing his forehead, caressing his tiny fingers.

Both Meredith and Derek knew they would love their baby forever. Just like they knew with Zola. They were both their kids and they loved them infinitely. There was nothing in the world they wouldn't do or be for them.

They stayed like that for a long while. Taking in every movement their son made, mesmerized by every single breath he took and by how beautiful he was.

The little baby looked at both his parents, resting comfortably in Mer's arms.

"So, what are we going to call him?" Derek asked again as the last time they were talking about it they couldn't arrive to a definite decision.

"Uhm, i have been thinking, while Shane was operating on me and i was still conscious...that, i would like him to be named Derek." Meredith bit her lip and gave him a wide smile.

Derek's eyes went wide and sparkled. "My name? Derek Jr.?" He asked.

"Yeah Der, your name, you're his dad. And of course we will call him Derek, not Derek Jr." She chuckled.

"But, he's our little boy, i don't want him to only have our last names. And if there's someone who i want him to be named after...it's you." Meredith said.

Derek's eyes got watery listening to his wife's sweet words. "I...think it's a great idea." He grinned unable to contain the joy.

"That's what i thought." Meredith smiled back. "Besides, we already know Derek Shepherd sounds great." She gave him a sideways smile.

"Well, that's true." He smirked. "So Derek it is."

"Yeah, he's our little Derek. He'll definitely be a mini-you." Meredith grinned.

"Thank you Mer." He said. "And what will his middle name be?" He asked.

"That i don't know, we have to think about it." Meredith admitted. "But well, at least we have a first name." She giggled cooing and grinning at the baby, who seemed amused to hear his mom's laugh.

"I can't believe we almost didn't have this." Derek sighed.

"I know... I was so scared. I am still terrified. I don't ever want anything bad to happen to them or us." Meredith said.

"Neither do i." Derek said.

"I fought, i didn't stop fighting. Not even for a second. I never gave up." Meredith said firmly. "I just wanted you to know that." She sighed

"I know you did Mer. Thank you, for fighting, for staying. I don't know what we would do without you. I can't live without you." He told her and succumbed to the urge of kissing her.

Derek sat beside her and held her in his arms, as she rested her back on his chest, holding their baby in her arms.

"Forever, remember?" Meredith whispered.

"Forever." Derek echoed and smiled.

"This is so amazing. I can't believe he's here already." Meredith breathed out excited.

"He's perfect Mer. He's ours."

"Yeah, he is. Forever." She smiled.

"Hey, do you think he's ready to meet his sister?" Derek asked.

"I think he is."

"Okay, i'll go get Zola. I'll be right back." He smiled and kissed them both.

"We won't move, promise." Meredith giggled.

Some minutes later, Derek was back in sight, carrying a slightly sleepy Zola in arms.

"Hey sweetie." Meredith greeted her.

"Momma!" Zola said happily seeing Meredith.

"Zo, remember we talked about how your baby brother was going to be here soon for you to meet him?" Meredith said. "Well, he's here princess, you want to see him?" She asked.

Zola nodded quietly and stared in awe at the little baby Meredith was holding.

"This is your baby brother Zo." Derek said walking closer to Meredith's bed so that Zola could see little Derek up close.

"About the middle name.." Meredith said smiling endlessly at her son. Derek captivated watching Mer with their baby, so natural and perfect, as if they had been like that since forever.

The baby whimpered a little. Meredith soothed him and softly rubbed his back, cooing him. "What do you think about Bailey?" She asked.

"Bailey?!" Derek said.

"Do you like it?" Meredith asked.

"I love it." He grinned and she giggled.

The baby whimpered a little more, Meredith patted him softly and soothed him, grinning in awe at her beautiful baby boy, while Derek kept holding Zola, who was mesmerized by her little brother.

Cristina observed the sweet scene from outside. She smiled watching Meredith so happy. This is what Meredith had always wanted but was scared to have. And now, she finally had it and it made her as happy as she'd never been before.

Cristina slowly walked away, knowing that amidst so many awful things going on. Mer's wish had come true and she was genuinely happy for her.

Derek, Meredith, Zola and baby Derek remained like that, the only sounds to be heard were the now calm rain falling down against the windows and small whimpers from the baby every now and then.

This was the kind of moment that could never be planned or expected. Because, just as the best things in life, it came as a surprise, beautifully taking over everyone's minds and souls, making them feel an infinite joy that nothing would ever take away.

**So... This is it! My take on a couple of MerDer centered scenes that i imagined would have been a perfect for ep. 9x24 :) i really hope you liked it and enjoyed the entire fanfic. This chapter has a mix of feelings, anguish, fear, hope, joy and especially love. Thank you all again for taking your time to read my fanfic, you're all amazing! and as a last request, i'd love it if you could PLEASE REVIEW! For the last time! :) Have an amazing weekend! We'll be all joined watching the season premiere next week! :)**


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